Three smallest Cherokee cities soon will see funds from $90M parks bond

Cherokee Tribune

June 26, 2013 11:15 PM | 3118 views | 0 | 39 | |

By Joshua Sharpe

jsharpe@cherokeetribune.com

CANTON — Five years after Cherokee County voters approved a $90 million parks bond, the county’s three smallest cities will soon finally start to see their share of the capital project cash.

Bill Echols, Cherokee’s capital projects manager, said Wednesday that since the county began tapping into the park bond funds, about two-thirds of the money has been spoken for, but Ball Ground, Waleska and Nelson have yet to see construction.

Now, building on parks in the county’s three least-populated cities is set to begin in just a few weeks, once the construction contracts are finalized with the three firms who were awarded the jobs.

The Cherokee Board of Commissioners voted unanimously at its last meeting to approve contracts for roughly $1.621 million for park renovations in Ball Ground and another $772,000 and $216,000 in Waleska and Nelson respectively.

Cherokee Recreation and Parks Director Bryan Reynolds said Wednesday each of the parks in this round of parks bond construction are existing facilities, though some new additions will be built.

In Ball Ground, several parks within the city will see construction, with the Ball Ground City Park being the most renovated. Reynolds said the city of Ball Ground has city festivals in this park, and to accommodate the gatherings, a stage and amphitheater will be built there.

Lions Field, where the city has baseball games, will have its restrooms, dugouts, concessions stand and parking lot redone.

Calvin Farmer Park in Ball Ground will get a brand new T-ball field and renovations to its playground and walking trails.

Waleska’s Waleska Park, which is the only county-owned facility in this round of construction, will also see its own face-lift, Reynolds said. There, the park’s three baseball fields and concessions area will be renovated.

In Nelson, Edmondson Field will have its parking lot made over and will get a new playground, pavilion and restroom facility, Reynolds said.

Construction on the parks is scheduled to be complete by Feb. 15, Echols said.

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